“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them” (Isaiah 1:11-14, ESV).
As believers in God, we at times will use words that describe God’s attributes such as omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. We use these words to wrap our limited knowledge and descriptive capacities as we describe the unlimited and unfathomable nature, knowledge and capacities of God. Yet we live at times, in a way as if God were unaware of our actions, intentions, schemes and sin. This falseness is always present in sin and in lesser degrees in all activities seem religious but really distance our living from God’s plans and ways.
God truly tires of all falseness especially our religiosity because He is aware of both the pretense and the destruction any course of sin will bring. All that is deceptive is never hidden from Him and so He carries the burden of waiting for us to both see the truth of our sin and come back to Him in repentance. Falseness separates God from us in every spurious action we take part in, just as falseness distances all parties in all relationships. Falseness also is a heavy burden to the human heart and mind as it travels the distance from first numbing us to the truth of who we are, to eventually overloading us with shame and guilt when we become finally see the truth. Sometimes the only person we deceive is our self. Falseness if unchecked and unaltered eventually destroys everything and it will eventually destroy us.
God is not only mighty in His power but He is mighty in His mercy and love. Our Father carries our burden of falseness and sin until we come to Him for cleansing grace, redemption and restoration. What a remarkable Father we have, to see through all our falseness and still wait for us! What an incredible Redeemer we have, to welcome us as He washes our sin of falseness away as we come in repentance. What an unbelievable Healer we have, to restore us and provide the good that only He can give. We all need to stop any pretending and give all our days to Him, by following His Spirit and His ways.
“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land …” (Isaiah 1:18-19, ESV).
Suggested Reading … Isaiah 1
